go nowhere

verb

To fail to progress, to fail to attain a favorable result or outcome.

“This project is going nowhere.”

Similar
go nowhere fast
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Meanings

verbgo nowhere (third-person singular simple present goes nowhere, present participle going nowhere, simple past went nowhere, past participle gone nowhere)

present singular third person goes nowhere · participle present going nowhere · past went nowhere · participle past gone nowhere · alternative get nowhere

  1. idiomaticTo fail to progress, to fail to attain a favorable result or outcome.

    This project is going nowhere.

    2 more examples

    The negotiations went nowhere.

    The 20 miles [from Okehampton] to Bere Alston, via the growing town of Tavistock, is crying out to be reopened for many reasons, but it is unlikely to happen any time soon. Returning just the six miles from Bere Alston to Tavistock has been mooted, but again it seems to be going nowhere very slowly.

    2025 November 12, 'Mystery Shopper', “Is Devon the cream of the crop?”, in RAIL, number 1048, page 47

    Synonyms: go nowhere fast

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo fail to progress, to fail to attain a favorable result or outcome.

Similar
go nowhere fast
Cite this entry
APA

go nowhere. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/go%20nowhere

MLA

“go nowhere.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/go%20nowhere. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “go nowhere,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/go%20nowhere.

Source: go nowhere on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.